Slug ejecting mechanism of typographical slug casting machines



March 31, 1936. 1.A A'LBRECHT 2,035,444

SLUG EJECTING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Marh31,1936. A ALBRCHT l 2,035,444

SLUGrl EJECTING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 28, 1934 v2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l. ,O 4 N Patented Mar. 31, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLUG EJECTING MECHANISM OF TYPO- GRAPHICAL SLUG CASTING MACHINES Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 28, 1934, Serial No. 755,128 In Germany December 22, 1933 14 Claims.

This invention relates to typographical slug casting machines, such as those known commercially under the registered trade-mark Linotype, wherein a composed line of matrices carried by a vertically movable transporter or socalled rst elevator, is presented to a mould for the production of the cast slug, and wherein, after casting, the wheel or disc in which the mould is mounted, is turned to a position in front of an' ejector blade which is thereupon operated to eject the slug from the mould into a slug galley.

In such machines when a thick recessed slug, substantially T-shaped or U-shaped in cross section, is ejected, the action of the ejector blade upon the shank or one of the shanks of the slug, has a tendency to tilt the latter as it clears the mould, with the result that the slug is delivered into the galley in an inaccurate position.

According to the principal feature of the invention this difficulty is overcome by supporting the slug during ejection against a resilient surface, preferably in the form of a spring-controlled buffer, which, after the slug has reached its foremost position, is locked against the return movement, so that the slug, which has been securely held during ejection between the buffer and the ejector blade, will be released as soon as the latter is retracted, and will be allowed to slid-e down into the galley. The release of the buffer for its return movement is then eifected by the first elevator at the next operative cycle.

In order to provide for the satisfactory action of the buffer when ejecting blank slugs which are lower than slugs provided with type characters, a further feature of the invention contemplates an auxiliary locking position for the buffer appropriate to such blank slugs, sor that the latter shall not be held by the buffer against the ejector blade when it is retracted, and thereby prevented from dropping into the galley.

In the case of particularly heavy slugs it has been found that on the return of the ejector blade the slug may tilt backwardly away from the buffer and strike against the edge of the mould. To prevent damage to the slug from this cause, a further feature of the invention consists in the provision of a guideway which, when the slug is ejected, is moved to the rear of the base of the slug and guides the. descending slug into the galley.

The several features of the invention are hereinafter Idescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 isa vertical section of the pertinent parts of a machine with the present improvements applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a plan View partly in section, the slug guideway and the parts appertaining thereto being omitted;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view, illustrating the tilting of a slug during ejection when the present invention is not used;

Figure 4 is a vertical section, similar to Figure 1, showing a modification of the buffer lock, the parts being represented in a different position from that of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the slug guideway.

Referring to the drawings, a is the mould, in which the slug b is cast. A U-shaped recessed slug'is illustrated as an example, and it is apparent that the ejector blade c can act upon only one of the Shanks of the slug. The result of this is that when the slug leaves the mould, it will easily tilt, as shown in Figure 3, and slide into the galley in an incorrect position. To prevent this, according to the invention, a buffer plate d is provided, having on its surface directed towards the slug a facing e of soft material such as felt, india rubber or the like, to prevent damage to the slug. The plate d is carried by a sleeve f which is recessed along its underside and has a recess g on its upper side. The sleeve f embraces a rod h which is fastened to the plate d. The rod h, is encircled by a spring i. The sleeve f is located within a casing 7c fast to the machine frame and the rod h is guided in a cover plate k1, the spring z' bearing against the inner Side of the 'cover plate, so as to constantly urge the plate d towards the right as viewed in Figure 1 into contact with the slug b to be ejected. A detent m, pivotally mounted at n` in the casing 7c, carries a roller o. A spring controlled pin p, adapted to bear against the `detent m, tends to hold theV latter in the position in which it is shown in Figure 1, With its nose projecting Within the casing into the path of the bar f. A cam r, fixed upon the first elevator, is adapted to contact with the roller o.

The operation of the device is as follows:-

After the slug has been cast and the mould has been moved to the ejecting position, the buier plate d occupies the position in which it is shown in Figure 1, bearing closely against the front edge of the slug. As the slug is ejected the ejector, acting through the slug moves the buffer to the position shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 1. 'Ihe pressure exerted by the spring i, however, will cause the buffer to be pressed Vmore forward position.

against the slug, which will thus be clamped between the ejector c and the buffer plate d and remain in its correct position. When the ejector has reached the end of its slug ejecting stroke, the buffer plate d and the sleeve f to which it is affixed will have moved forward to a position in which the detent m will engage the recess g and thereby lock the buffer in its foremost position. As the ejector returns, the slug will be released and will drop freely into the galley. The buier plate d will remain locked until the rst elevator descends at the next operative cycleand brings the cam r into contact with the roller o, thus moving the detent m out of the recess g and allowing the buffer plate d to return into its original position under the action of the spring i.

An interchangeable member s (Figure 1) may be tted within the recess g to serve for timing the engagement of the detent for locking the buffer, which member may be easily replaced when worn. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 4, the sleeve j may be provided on its upper side with two recesses g and g1, so that the buffer may be prevented from following the ejector on its return stroke after the ejection of a blank slug.

With this arrangement, when a blank slug is ejected, the buffer plate d is moved only to the extent indicated by the full lines in Figure 4. Thus, the detent m will then engage the recess g1 and lock the buffer in that position. When, on the other hand, an ordinary slug having type characters on its face is ejected, the buffer plate will reach the position shown in dot-and-dash lines, in Figures 1 and 4 and the detent m will engage the recess g and lock the buffer in the Obviously the arrangement is useful, not only for alternatively ejecting ordinary slugs and blank slugs, but also for the ejecting of slugs of variable size, which for various reasons have different heights. Further instead of the two recesses g, g1, a larger number could be arranged, or the member for the engagement of the detent m could be in the form of a locking bar in order to make the present arrangement suitable for the most varied type heights.

In order to prevent tilting of the slug and its coming into contact with the sharp edge a1 of the mould when sliding downwardly, a guideway as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 5 may be provided. In the constructional form illustrated, a segmental frame t is pivoted at t1 to the vise frame, and is formed with a short lever arm carrying an abutment screw u. A projection v afdxed to the buier plate d, comes into contact with the screw u, when the said buffer plate is moved back by the ejecting movement of the slug. The abutment screw u is adjustable in order to alter the position of the device for slugs of diierent heights and correspondingly different strokes of the buffer plate.

The segmental frame carries a guiding plate t2 which forms a surface on which the slug can slide; moreover, in order to adjust the width of the guiding channel according to the thickness of the slug, a side plate t3 is provided which is aflixed to a bolt t4 slidable in the segmental frame and locked in the adjusted position by a set screw t5.

As soon as the slug is ejected, and the buffer plate d has reached the forward position appropriate to the respective slug, the guide plate t2 engages behind the base of the slug, as shown in Figure 4, so that as soon as the ejector c returns,

the slug slides on to the plate t2 and towards the' slug galley y, without any danger of the slug tilting and becoming damaged. Figure 1 shows the normal position of the guideway, and the abutment u adjusted for a slug of full height; the active position of the guideway for receiving a slug is shown in Figure 4, in which the ejection of a low slug, and an appropriate adjustment of the abutment u is represented.

It is to be understood that the constructional forms of mechanisms above described are given only as convenient examples, and that modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example, the release of the buffer could be effected by a member of the machine other than the first elevator; the locking of the buffer in the forward position could be effected by clamping mechanism instead of by a detent; a vertically movable guiding plate could be provided, and the movement of the guiding plate, instead of being controlled by the buffer, could be controlled by the ejector blade or any other part of the machine taking part in the ejecting movement.

Having described my invention, I declare that what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isc- 1. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector operable to eject a cast slug from the mould, of a yielding abutment adapted to bear against the face of a slug during its ejection from the mold in opposition to the pressure of the ejector on the base of the slug, and means adapted to hold the abutment stationary when said pressure is released.

2. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector blade advancedto eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during its ejection from the mold by the ejector blade, and a locking device adapted to hold the buffer stationary during the retraction of the ejector blade.

3. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector operable to eject a cast slug from the mould, of a yielding abutment adapted to bear against the face of a slug during its ejection from the mould in opposition to the pressure of the ejector on the base of the slug, means adapted to hold the abutment stationary when said pressure is released, and means adapted to return the abutment to slug-engaging position prior to the next succeeding operation of the ejector.

4. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector blade advanced to eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during its ejection from the mould by the ejector blade, a locking device adapted to hold the buffer stationary during the retraction of the ejector blade, and means adapted to release said locking device after the retraction of the ejector blade.

5. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector operable to eject a cast slug from the mould, of a yielding abutment adapted to bear against the face of a slug during its ejection from the mould in opposition to the pressure of the ejector on the base of the slug, and means adapted to hold the abutment stationary in different positions to accord with the height of the ejected slug when the pressure of the ejector on the slug is released.

6. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, a vertically movable transporter adapted to present a composed line to the mould for the casting of a slug and an ejector blade advanced to eject a cast slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during its ejection from the mould by the ejector blade, a sliding bar supporting said buffer and having a recess, a detent adapted to engage in said recess at the completion of the ejection, and means actuated by the transporter during the next operative cycle of the machine adapted to release said detent.

7. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, a vertically movable transporter adapted to present a composed line to the mould for the casting of a slug and an ejector blade advanced to eject a cast slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face oi the slug during its ejection from the mould by the ejector blade, a sliding bar supporting said buffer and having a recess, a replaceable abutment plate located` in said recess, a detent adapted to engage in the recess behind said abutment plate at the completion of the ejection, and means actuated by the transporter during the next operative cycle of the machine adapted to release said detent.

8. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, a vertically movable transporter adapted to present a composed line to the mould for the casting of a slug and an ejector blade advanced to eject a cast slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during its .ejection from the mould by the ejector blade, a sliding bar supporting said buffer and having a plurality of recesses, a detent adapted to engage at the completion of the ejection in one or another of said recesses in accordance with the height of the slug ejected, and means actuated by the transporter during the next operative cycle of the machine adapted to release said detent.

9. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, an ejector operable to eject a cast slug from the mould, and a galley adapted to receive an ejected slug, of a yielding abutment adapted to bear against the face of a slug in opposition to the pressure of the ejector on the base of the slug, means adapted to hold the abutment stationary when said pressure is released, a guideway adapted to conduct an ejected slug towards the galley and normally occupying an inoperative position clear of the path of the slug during ejection, and means adapted to move said guideway to an operative position for receiving the ejected slug.

l0. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, an ejector blade advanced to eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection and a galley adapted to receive an ejected slug, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during the advance of the ejector blade, a locking device adapted to hold the buffer stationary during the retraction of the ejector blade, a pivoted guideway adapted to conduct an ejected slug towards the galley and normally occupying an inoperative position clear of the path of the slug during ejection and means operable by the advance of the ejector blade to move said guideway to an operative position for receiving the ejected slug.

11. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, an ejector blade advanced to eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection and a galley adapted to receive an ejected slug, of a spring-loaded buffer adapted to bear against the face of the slug during the advance of the ejector blade, a locking device adapted to hold the buffer stationary during the retraction of the ejector blade, a pivoted guideway adapted to conduct an ejected slug towards the galley and normally occupying an inoperative position clear of the path of the slug during ejection, an abutment on said guideway, and a member carried by the buffer adapted to engage said abutment and thereby move the guideway to an operative position for receiving the ejected slug.

12. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, an ejector blade advanced to eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection and a galley adapted to receive an ejected slug, of a spring-loaded buier adapted to bear against the face Aof the slug during the advance of the ejector blade, a locking device adapted to hold the buffer stationary during the retraction of the ejector blade, a pivoted -guideway adapted to conduct an ejected slug towards the galley and normally occupying an inoperative position clear of the path of the slug during ejection, a member carried by the buffer, an arm on the guideway operatively engaged by said member during the movement. of the buier to move the guideway to an operative position for receiving'the slug, and an adjustable abutment interposed between said member and arm whereby the range of movement of the guideway may be maintained constant and the range of movement of the buffer varied.

13. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould, an ejector operable to eject a cast slug from the mould, and a galley adapted to receive an ejected slug, of a yielding abutment adapted to bear against the face of a slug in opposition to the pressure of the ejector on the base of the slug, means adapted to hold the abutment stationary when said pressure is released, a guideway adapted to conduct an ejected slug towards the galley and normally occupying an inoperative position clear of the path of the slug during ejection, means adapted to move said guideway toan operative position for receiving the ejected slug, and a side wall on saidl guideway adjustable to accommodate slugs of different thicknesses.

14. In a typographical slug-casting machine, the combination with a mould and an ejector blade advanced to eject a slug from the mould and retracted after ejection, of 4a spring-loaded buier adapted to bear against the face of the slug duringI its ejection from the mould by the ejector blade, a covering of yielding material on the slug-co-ntacting face of the buffer, and a locking device adapted to hold the buier stationary during the retraction of the ejector.

CHRISTIAN AUGUSTUS ALBRECHT. 

